Season Ticket Holder Jess Shah wins #RapidsRoadTrip to Seattle

Have you ever received final notice for an overdue library book and wondered where the first or second notice was? That’s exactly what Jess Shah thought when she saw an email in her inbox saying that this was her last chance to claim her prize as the winner of the #RapidsRoadTrip presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

As soon as she heard about the contest back in June, Shah submitted a photo that she took from the USA vs. Costa Rica match during World Cup Qualifying on March 22, best known as the “SnowClasico,” as her favorite “Untouchable Moment” – the theme of the contest:

“This match is history. Still talked about from all walks and not limited to just here at home, with the likes of Phil Schoen, Ray Hudson and countless many still in discuss of this amazing night. A record setting sellout and some fantastic/tough 20k+ fans on their feet at DSG. PRICELESS. P.S. - #BleedBurgundy STH Sec 126 Proud of my boys this season!” [The photo that accompanied this text is at the top of the page.]

“In all honesty, that just screamed Colorado proud to me,” Shah explained to ColoradoRapids.com of her reason for submitting that particular entry. “And that’s why I think it was pretty untouchable.”

Shah’s submission, which was among the top 10 entries based on Facebook likes and Twitter retweets, was chosen by a panel of judges as the winner for best exemplifying an “untouchable moment.”

She was notified by Rapids Partnership Marketing Account Manager Savannah Reading, but missed the first email and only saw the final notice alerting her that if she didn’t respond by 12 p.m. the next day, it would go to someone else. She immediately reached out to Reading to accept the offer, and is now set to see her first Rapids game on the road and also visit Seattle for the first time.

Shah, 28, moved to Colorado from San Diego a little over two years ago. She met Joel Daves, a Rapids season ticket holder, who took her to her first Rapids game and turned her into the fan that she is now. Because of her history with Daves, now her boyfriend, she had no second thoughts about selecting him to accompany her on the trip.

“He really is as much of a fan as I am, if not more,” she said of Daves. “So I couldn’t imagine taking anybody else.”

For winning the contest, Shah received a $250 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods and got to attend Rapids training on Tuesday to meet her favorite player, Deshorn Brown. On Wednesday, Shah will be recognized on the field at halftime of the Colorado Rapids vs. New England Revolution game, and then she and Daves will depart Friday for Washington. They will stay for two nights at the team hotel in downtown Seattle, sightsee during the day, and attend the Rapids vs. Seattle match on Saturday evening in club seats after watching the Rapids warm-up from the sidelines.

The second #RapidsRoadTrip begins on August 1, where the fan who can best demonstrate how he or she incorporates their love for the Rapids with the healthy and outdoorsy Colorado lifestyle will win a trip for two to Portland to watch the Rapids take on the Timbers on September 20. For more information on the contest, including the Grand Prize of a trip to England, click here.